Dr. Mischel received his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College and trained in Anatomic Pathology and Neuropathology at UCLA. Dr. Mischel did his post-doctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. Louis F. Reichardt at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at UCSF.

Dr. Mischel is the scientific director of the Sarkaria Biomarkers program and co-director of the Cancer Stem Cell Program in the newly formed UCLA Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Medicine. His laboratory has expertise in quantitative analysis of signal transduction pathways, stem-cell related pathways, and gene expression networks in clinical samples. His laboratory focuses on the development and application of molecularly targeted therapies and on the application of emerging technologies to identify the patients most likely to benefit from these new treatments.